Hollywood: Asking better questions

Brie Larson backstage with her Golden Globe Award on Sunday, January 10, 2016.

Hollywood’s red carpets and post win interview rooms are traditionally the setting for often banal, superficial and cringe worthy personal questions, almost exclusively directed toward women in the industry.

Hollywood: Asking better questions

Spurred on by the likes of Cate Blanchett, who called out E! Entertainment for doing a bottom to top pan shot of her while being interviewed, stars have been publicly asking the media why? Why are women the subject of discussion that focuses primarily on looks and personal details and men on their profession?

Enter the social media campaign #AskHerMore, begun by The Representation Project, and #SmartGirlsAsk. At this year’s Golden Globe Awards the conversation was somewhat shifted as a result.

American comedian, director, producer, writer and actress Amy Poehler, started a movement with a humble digital series in 2008 called Smart Girls at the Party aiming to “help girls find confidence in their own aspirations and talents.” Eight years on Smart Girls has grown from series to online community, to a voice for young feminism, as is evident looking at the reach of Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls on the Internet and social media.

At the 2016 Golden Globe Awards Amy Poehler set up an interview area capturing the responses of celebrities to questions submitted by Twitter users tweeting with the hashtag #SmartGirlsAsk. Questions around what inspires, motivates, calls for advice and lessons learnt streamed in, teaching us all what a respectful and insightful interview looks like.